Measuring GH

[gautier]

Hi,

I have an indicator for GH by Hagen. But i don't have any instructions on how to use it. I think it's used for freshwater tanks as my friend gave me this since he owns a saltwater tank.

anyone have an idea how to use this?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Is it the liquid test?

If it is, add 1 drop, then shake. Keep doing this til it changes from pink to blue. Then multiply the number of drops by 20 to get your hardness. I use the Hagen test myself for gh and kh. gh liquid test is multiplied by 20 and the kh liquid test is multiplied by 10.

Then after you multiply it by 20, if you want to know the degrees of hardness, multiply that number you get by .056. That will give you the degrees.

 

[gautier]

interesting.

slightly unrelated, i have been trying to read up on the affect of adding calcium carbonate and GH. Apparently, my alkilinity is really low and i'm trying to find a way to bring it up, at the same time, increase calcium levels.

I've read somewhere about using baking soda in conjuction with the calcium to act as a buffer. But i don't want to take any chances until i know for sure.

 

[toddnbecka]

A handful of crushed coral (calcium carbonate) will do the job. Baking soda will raise pH to a max of 8.2, but adding more will raise the KH higher. If you just want to raise GH, epsom salr will do that.

 

[7Enigma]

Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. This will only raise your KH (carbonate hardness). This is what buffers your water from pH swings. Unless you have a planted tank with CO2 injection there is not a need to increase your KH levels.

CC or any other calcium source (calcium sulfate, calcium chloride) will increase your GH levels. CC is the only one of these that will increase BOTH your GH and KH (since its calcium carbonate). I would recommend if not a planted tank to NOT use CC, just stick with a sole calcium source. What is the reasoning behind wanting to increase the GH/KH in the first place?

 

[gautier]

At first when i tested my pH, it turned out to be a devastating <5. so i wanted to increase the pH but i knew I didn't want it to swing back down, so I knew i had to do something about the KH.

Calcium was a different thing in itself as I thought some calcium would do well for crustaceans and shrimps. I'm not sure on this though.

 

[7Enigma]

At first when i tested my pH, it turned out to be a devastating <5. so i wanted to increase the pH but i knew I didn't want it to swing back down, so I knew i had to do something about the KH.

Calcium was a different thing in itself as I thought some calcium would do well for crustaceans and shrimps. I'm not sure on this though.

How new is your tank? Very low natural pH levels like that can occur during cycling as the bacteria are multiplying in the tank. That is AWFUL low though! What is the pH of your tap water?

Do you have peat or driftwood in the tank?

Calcium if your GH levels are low is added to invert/snail tanks since they deplete the calcium from the water (and thus lower the GH), but this is only needed in low GH tanks (or were PWC's are rarely done).

 

[gautier]

the tank is a few months old now, but about a month ago, i had to change most of the water due to neglect. and now that i have a job to fund this hobby, i started it up again.

and yes i do have driftwood.. a couple pieces. is that really enough to affect a 29 gal tank? the two pieces might be about 3-5 lbs in total? i was planning to get more..

ph of my tap water i think is around 7-7.3 and it's generally softer around where i live.

basically i bought these calcium bicarbonate pills from the drugstore and i put one in, but i didn't like how it was clouding everything up and got worried so i pulled it out. the ingredients say coral shell so it seems safe. i plan on adding more snails and shrimps to the tank so i'm guessing this is a wise move.